Call it Even
by NightFuryofGallifrey
Summary: Hiccup and Astrid have a fight and storm off their separate ways, right before a huge snow storm hits Berk.


"Why do you always get so upset about things?!" Hiccup asked, exasperated.

"I'm not upset!" Astrid yelled.

"Oh, sure," Hiccup said, drawing the word out. "I can see that."

"ERGH!" Astrid cried, clenching fistfuls of her hair. "Why do you have to be so... infuriating?!"

"Why are you so touchy?" Hiccup shot back.

"I am not touchy!"

"Then why are you shouting?" Hiccup shouted.

"Why are you shouting?" Astrid yelled back.

"Because you're shouting!"

"I'm shouting because you're shouting!"

Hiccup covered his face with his hands before raising them in exasperation. "This is going no where!"

"Yes, it is," Astrid said. "Or it would be if you would stop shouting!"

"Me?" Hiccup cried. "You're the one who started this in the first place!"

"Really?" Astrid shot back. "Who didn't inform me that he would be _three hours late_ for dinner? I actually cooked something tonight, and you weren't here to eat it!"

"Well, who said I had to tell you where I'm going to be every second of the day?" Hiccup demanded. "You're not my mother!"

"I'm your wife!" Astrid snapped.

"Yeah, thanks, I noticed!"

Astrid let out another half-scream of frustration and turned on her heel and stormed away towards the door.

"Fine, yeah, sure, walk..." Hiccup started, the door slamming before he could finish.

Hiccup whirled around and stalked out the back door, slamming it behind him.

He rubbed his hands over his face, growling and muttering to himself.

Toothless poked his head around the corner of the house, looking timid. Hiccup stomped through the dying grass that said winter was on its way over to his dragon. He climbed up onto Toothless' back. "C'mon, bud," he muttered.

Toothless looked up at him curiously, but took off obediently.

They flew through the frosty clouds, the cold wind biting through Hiccup's clothes. He hadn't thought to bring a jacket.

Hiccup said nothing most of the flight. Why was Astrid so... sensitive? One little mistake, one miscommunication, and she flies off the handle.

_I probably could have told her I was going to be late,_ Hiccup thought, a feeling of guilt creeping in. He sighed.

Toothless looked up and groaned. Hiccup looked up, realizing that the clouds were getting thicker and the wind's bite fiercer. He rubbed his arms, shivering. "Think we're going to get a big snow tonight," he said.

Toothless rumbled.

Hiccup looked down and sighed. "We should probably head back." He sighed again. "I think I owe Astrid an apology."

Toothless nodded his head. Hiccup glared at him. "Not helpful." He nudged the Night Fury back towards Berk.

By the time they touched down, the snow had started to fall in fast, heavy torrents. Through the blur of white, Hiccup could just make out people and animals heading towards the Great Hall.

Hiccup and Toothless trudged through the snow in that direction. He found Stoick and Gobber at the door, helping people inside.

"Hiccup," Stoick said. "I was beginning to worry about you."

Hiccup shrugged and stepped inside. "I'm fine." He looked around the Great Hall, his gaze searching the faces. "Have you seen Astrid?"

Stoick shook his head. "No. I assumed she was with you."

Hiccup frowned. "No. We... had an argument, and we stormed off our own ways. I went to fly with Toothless, and..." An icy tendril of fear, like someone had shoved a handful of snow down his back, crept up his spine. "And I don't... I don't know where she is."

Hiccup swung himself back onto Toothless.

"Hiccup, be careful out there!" Stoick called.

Hiccup nudged Toothless forward, back out into the blizzard.

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried, but the wind snatched his voice away the moment it left his lips. _Where is she? _He thought frantically. He could barely see through the snow now. Toothless blew another shot of fire to light up the night momentarily, the white licking up the flame in a second.

_Where would she go?_ Hiccup raked his mind frantically. He remembered her tree, her axe-throwing tree. She usually went there when she was angry or upset.

Hiccup nudged Toothless in the direction he thought was closest to her tree. Panic gnawed at him. Worry that they wouldn't find her, or if they did, that it would be too late...

"Light!" Hiccup shouted. Toothless lit another stream of fire. A glint of light, barely visible came from below, in the woods. _Her axe!_

Hiccup nudged Toothless to go down.

Then he saw her.

Lying in the snow, half buried, her axe lying next to her hand. Her eyes were closed.

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried.

Toothless landed, and Hiccup lept of his back before he'd touched the ground. Hiccup stumbled, but ran through the snow that was nearly up to his knees now. He dropped to his knees next to her, pulling her out of the drift and into his arms.

The first thing that he noticed was how cold she felt. Her lips were turning blue around the edges, and her face looked white, even in the snow.

Hiccup stumbled to his feet, carrying her limp form in his arms. He spun around. Toothless stared in the other direction, like he was looking for something. He rumbled and looked at Hiccup, eyes wide. He motioned his head in the direction he was looking.

Hiccup stumbled towards Toothless, who lifted a wing to shield his humans, and started plowing through the snow.

Hiccup followed the Night Fury blindly, devoting his attention from looking up to make sure he was still following Toothless, and looking down at his wife, holding her closer to his chest, willing her to get warm.

Toothless let out a little cry of joy and increased his pace. Hiccup looked up and squinted through the snow. Was that... it was! A cave!

They stumbled into the mouth of the cave. Hiccup went in ten feet from the entrance, then gently lowered Astrid to the ground.

"Astrid," he whispered. She was so still. He forced himself to reach for her pulse, tears of relief springing to his eyes when he found it.

Toothless lit a fire in the middle of the cave. Hiccup pulled Astrid closer to the fire. He took her hands in his and started rubbing, trying to get life back into them.

A few minutes later, Astrid's eyelids flickered open, then closed.

"Astrid," Hiccup whispered, desperation creeping into his voice. "Astrid, can you hear me?"

Astrid's eyes flickered open. "Hiccup?" Her mouth moved, sound barely escaping her lips.

"I'm here," Hiccup answered. "I'm here."

"So... tired..." she whispered, her eyelids lowering again.

"No!" Hiccup cried. "Astrid! Listen to me. You've got to stay awake! You can't fall back to sleep. Do you understand?"

Astrid nodded barely.

"We've got to get you warmer," Hiccup said, pulling her as close as he dared to the fire, rubbing her limbs with more intensity.

Toothless spread his wings out wider, draping them in a canopy over the couple. Hiccup felt the temperature rise significantly between the Night Fury's body warmth and the fire.

Astrid stared at him, her face not as pale as it was before and eyes more open.

"Feeling warmer?" Hiccup asked, staring back at her anxiously.

"Much warmer," Astrid answered. Hiccup helped her into a sitting postion, pulling her closer to his side and wrapping his arms around her, willing his body heat to pass into hers.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I would be late, and I'm sorry I stormed off."

Astrid shook her head. "I stormed off, too."

"You could have died," Hiccup whispered.

"So could have you," Astrid whispered back.

Hiccup shook his head. "I couldn't have. I was too worried about you."

Astrid smiled, leaning her head against Hiccup's side. "I'm sorry I got so upset."

Hiccup shook his head. "You had reason to be. I should have told you I was going to be late."

"But I didn't need to get so upset," Astrid said, then stopped, laughing softly. "We're doing it again."

Hiccup smiled, and leaned over to kiss Astrid. "Let's just call it even."


End file.
